Incumbents in three Evanston wards looking to keep their seats on City Council

The races for aldermen representing Evanston's 1st, 3rd and 8th Wards are three of the city's eight contested races in the April 4 consolidated election.

Incumbents in each of these words will be looking to retain their seat on the City Council.

Other contested races include those for mayor, city clerk, and the 5th, 6th and 9th Wards.

Early voting is underway and runs March 20 to April 3.

1st WardLee Cabot

After 21 years living in Evanston — all in the same house in the 1st Ward — Cabot, 66, said it's time to run for office.

"I have a long history of community service in Evanston. I see this as an extension of that," Cabot said.

Cabot works as a Northwestern University program assistant with the McCormick School's Master of Product Design and Development Management program. Since moving to Evanston she has served on 10 community boards, including the library board and the foundation for School District 65, she said.

If elected, Cabot said she hopes to see city and Northwestern officials work together more often. She also hopes to help create more job training programs and preserve affordable housing.

Cabot plans to use her MBA agree to help her keep an eye on the city's finances, she said. All of Evanston's priorities depend on it.

"How do we grow our economy while continuing to protect the things that we cherish?" Cabot said. "The only way to do those things is to have money to do them."

Judy Fiske

A fifth generation Evanstonian, Fiske is seeking to keep the aldermanic post she has held since first elected in 2009.

Her top priorities, she said, are economic development, business promotion and lakefront protection.

If reelected, she hopes to continue working on development and business opportunities, Fiske said. That includes bringing small niche retail stores back to town, and making sure proposed development fits into the neighborhood and community.

Fiske said she especially hopes to continue her work rebuilding Fountain Square, creating a public gathering space downtown.

Across the ward, Fiske said she plans to keep an eye on Northwestern University and the related town-gown issues, especially those that have to do with zoning.

"I very much look at things holistically," Fiske said.

"We know that Evanston is in a really strong place," Fiske said. "We're trying to get the right developers and that takes experience."

3rd WardAlex Block

Block, 25, was born and raised in Evanston and returned almost two years ago after college because "Evanston was really pulling on my heartstrings."

A strong supporter of the college town's "progressive values," Block, who works as a development associate for the Sgt. Shriver National Center on Poverty Law, said he's running for office to "offer a big, bold vision of what this city can accomplish."

Namely, Block said, he would like to see Evanston become a carbon-neutral community, close the achievement gap between students of different races and family incomes, address the root issues of crime and provide more affordable housing, among other ideas.

To achieve those goals, Block said he first would propose a living wage ordinance in Evanston that could require employers to pay their workers enough to cover the cost of living in town.

"Part of leadership is setting big goals," Block said. "Let's put those ideas into the ether."

Alex Morgan

After Morgan moved to Evanston about two years ago, he promptly joined the Democratic Party of Evanston and attended a town hall meeting, he said.

"We owe it to our community to have a conversation about what's important and what we value," said Morgan, 28, who grew up in Michigan.

As executive director of Progressive Turnout Project, a national organization dedicated to boosting voter turnout, Morgan said he hopes to reinvest his salary in a 3rd Ward "service office."

"We don't have a community hub in our ward," said Morgan. If elected, a top goal would be to create one.

Morgan also hopes to hold monthly town meetings and visit residents at their homes, making sure he connects with voters and is well versed in the needs of his ward.

"I want accessible, equitable and transparent government," Morgan said. "I said at the beginning this was about creating a community conversation."

Melissa Wynne

Wynne said she is running for reelection as 3rd Ward alderman because "I'm not done."

"I'm still very passionate about being the alderman for the third ward," said Wynne, 60, who was first elected in 1997.

If elected, Wynne said her goals for the next term would be to reduce gun violence and strengthen workforce development. The two, she said, go hand in hand.

About 2,000 Evanston adults between ages 18 and 24 are "not headed to college and they don't have a clear path ahead of them," Wynne said.

If city officials can help those residents find jobs, Wynne said, that could prevent them from turning to crime and thus reduce gun violence.

Wynne said she hopes to keep Evanston attractive to businesses that would help boost the town's tax base, and strengthen recycling and other environmental efforts. She also hopes to help make the lakefront accessible to everyone in the summer, whether by public trolley or other efforts.

Wynne also hopes to help the new mayor as he takes office. Sixth Ward Ald. Mark Tendam and businessman Steve Hegarty are vying to replace out-going Mayor Elizabeth Tisdahl.

8th Ward

Robert "Rob" Bady

A 16-year resident of Evanston, Bady, 47, has spent the last eight of them in the 8th Ward, he said.

He's running for alderman, he said, because "I want to be that voice for folks who need a new voice and a new perspective."

"The most livable city has all of the people who live in it involved," Bady said.

If elected, Bady, a sales consultant for IGS Energy, said he hopes to continue the work redeveloping Howard Street along Evanston's border with Chicago. He hopes to draft a master plan for what might open in vacant storefronts and why.

Bady said he also hopes to work with existing businesses to ensure they have a place in the redevelopment plans.

Regular ward meetings would be key to his tenure, Bady said, and he plans to work with police to make sure officers and residents have better communication.

"We all need to be more involved," Bady said.

Ann Rainey

With about 30 years of service on the Evanston City Council, Rainey, the longest-sitting alderman, is running to keep her seat representing the 8th Ward.

"I think my history is a pretty good one," said Rainey. "I plan on continuing exactly what I've been doing."

Rainey pointed especially to Howard Street, where she spearheaded a revitalization that brought restaurants, plans for a future theater and other attractions.

"Things are getting pretty exciting there," Rainey said.

Rainey said she hopes to continue working with Evanston police to make sure controversial arrests — like that of a then-hopeful city clerk candidate collecting signatures downtown in November, or an African American man in 2015 accused of stealing a car that turned out to be his own — continue to be handled properly.

Her top concern is families with children, Rainey said, and making sure they and other residents have their day-to-day concerns heard — like garbage pickup, sidewalk repair and unrestrained dogs.

"It takes up most of an alderman's time," Rainey said. "It's not all that glamorous, but I tell you what, it's very satisfying."